NKU forum explores whether print journalism still matters

It's no secret that the rise of Internet advertising has corresponded with a shrinking advertiser base for newspapers. There were 689 cities with at least two daily newspapers a century ago, according to Dr. Sam Schulhofer-Wohl of Princeton University. Now it's more like a dozen. Whether this is a death knell or a wake up call, however, is a matter of opinion.

NKU production upstages itself with razzle-dazzle

When George Wolfe's 'The Colored Museum' was new, back in 1986, it drove some New York critics to spasms of praise for its liberating satire. Now onstage at Northern Kentucky University, there's considerably more sizzle than satire — or substance — to the show, which has been frazzle-dazzled into vaudeville that insists on upstaging itself.

NKU musical succeeds with logistics, misses on the artistry

Yes, the ship sinks. Happily, the musical does not. 'Titanic,' that is, now onstage with a cast of 37 at Northern Kentucky University. Composer-lyricist Maury Yeston and author Peter Stone have created a show with close to continuous music, solos for more than 20 people, huge choral numbers and frequent shifts of scene from bow to stern. The cast members are nicely matched to their music and to each other.

Bellevue eatery needs a tune-up

Siam Orchid is tiny but inviting and in a great location. Neighbors in Bellevue like to get out and support their local eateries, so I hope this restaurant polishes its rough edges and earns their patronage.

NKU's student paper was wrong to cancel ads for Resistance Records because the advertiser's racism offends the editor. And Editor Tim Owens was wrong to publish an apology for carrying the ads. If he were going to apologize, it should have been for invoking his beliefs to justify silencing an advertiser.

That's just one of many important decisions facing incoming freshmen

College is a time of decisions: Where are you going to go to school? What are you going to major in? What organizations are you going to join? While considering these long-term scenarios, another eminent decision to make is whether or not to live on or off campus.

NKU Y.E.S. Festival production about autism needs focus

Watching new scripts in their initial productions can be a double-edged sword: While it's exciting to be among the first audiences to see a brand-new play, there are often rough edges. Within 'Love and Communication' is a heartfelt, painful story about two parents dealing with the difficulties of raising an autistic child. But the new script, one of three plays produced during the biennial Y.E.S. Festival at Northern Kentucky University, tries to do too many things and dilutes its impact.

NKU Y.E.S. Festival student cast takes flight in new work about activism

Despite a few structural fumbles in the second act of Mark Rigney's 'Nightjars' and the occasional tendency to get knotted up in its own vehemence, the play is an engrossing, in-your-face theater piece. It's the third of three world premiere scripts on view at Northern Kentucky University's biennial Year End Series (Y.E.S.) new play festival.

NKU Y.E.S. Festival play about soldiers marred by too many laughs

At a guess, neither playwright Damon DiMarco nor director Michael King meant for 'Shock & Awe: Soldiers' Voices from Iraq' to take stage as a laugh riot when, on Thursday night, it opened Northern Kentucky University's biennial Year End Series (Y.E.S.) new play festival. But it did.

NKU has a mob of actresses for The Women

Actress/author/ambassador Clare Boothe Luce simply called Manhattan women of wealth "The Women" and said she wrote her acid-tongued 1936 comedy to get the scabrous bunch of them out of her mind. Blessed be university theaters with mobs of actresses who can tackle such scripts and succeed with them. What contemporary theater company could meet a payroll with 25 players in the cast?